Chapter 3.6

Late at night, in the mansion of Grand Duke Alban.  

With a sharp shattering sound, shards of glass scattered across the floor.  

“Are you joking? Cold tea at this hour? Are you trying to give me a stomachache all night?”  

“T-that’s because you always ask for something cold… Ack!”  

With a sharp slap, the maid’s head snapped to the side. Katrina, breathing heavily, shouted at her.  

“Who gave you the right to decide that?! Are you my master now? Is that it?!”  

“N-never! I would never think such a thing…!”  

“Shut up! You there, what are you standing around for?! Drag her out immediately! Lock her in the storage room and don’t give her a single drop of water!”  

“Ah, Your Grace, Grand Duchess! I’m so sorry! Please forgive me…!”  

The maid, dragged away by other servants, pleaded desperately, but Katrina didn’t even glance at her. Her eyes were fixed on the shards of the broken glass.  

‘That damn woman. She’s disgustingly lucky!’

What had I been thinking when I accepted this marriage? How had I managed to hide my true feelings until now? 

Today was the day she had been looking forward to the most, yet she gained nothing from it.

***

Earlier that day.

• If you’re referring to Lady Raymore, she had to return home due to an urgent matter.

She had planned to surprise that woman, who was said to frequent the Crown Prince’s palace, by appearing as the Grand Duchess. On the day of the royal wedding, when that woman would bow before the Imperial Family, she had intended to sit right in front of her and make a grand statement.

• Return home? Even though His Grace, the Grand Duke, came in person? How could she leave without even greeting him…?

• Perhaps she didn’t hear of his arrival. Surely, my uncle will understand.  

• Hmm? Well, I suppose…

• It’s a hot day. Please have a glass of cold tea. My fiancée prepared it, hoping it might bring even a little relief from the heat.

• Hah, so she had time to prepare this but didn’t know we were here? How absurd…

• Oh, just what I needed on such a hot day! As expected of Lady Raymore.

• W-wait. Darling!

• Tsk, tsk. Don’t be so harsh. It’s too hot to get worked up. We’ll have plenty of opportunities to exchange greetings as a family in the future. What’s the issue?  

• But…

• Gulp, gulp… Ahh, refreshing! Such a young lady, already showing such thoughtful hospitality. Truly commendable. As expected, those with beautiful faces also have beautiful hearts. Hahaha!  

Between the Grand Duke, sweating profusely and laughing heartily, and the composed Crown Prince, she was the only one left trembling with rage.  

‘She must have been tipped off in advance and fled. It’s the only explanation.’  

Yet her aging husband, ever the optimist, kept drinking glass after glass of cold tea. His wandering hands, which subtly groped her, were an added annoyance.  

There was nothing appealing about her husband except for his title as Grand Duke. Just moments ago, he had been grinning foolishly while teasing her, and she had only managed to put him to sleep by plying him with alcohol.  

Now, as he snored loudly in the next room, reeking of alcohol and sweat, she couldn’t bear to share a bed with him after the first night. She had fled to another room.  

From the beginning, even her father had opposed the marriage. But Katrina had only agreed to it with the singular goal of becoming the Grand Duchess and crushing Carnier. It had been an impulsive decision.  

But as the night deepened and her husband’s snores continued from the adjacent room, regret began to creep in.  

‘…No. If that wench hadn’t driven a wedge between the Marquis of Lusein and me in the first place…!’  

Blaming herself was too painful. So once again, Katrina directed her anger at the easiest target.  

‘Raymore…! She must be laughing gleefully while ruining my life!’

Once destined to become a Princess and potentially the lady of a prestigious marquisate, she now lived as a Grand Duchess in name only, on the verge of divorce.  

She didn’t even consider the misdeeds she had committed herself. Instead, she cursed the one person who had humiliated her during every tragic moment of her life.  

‘I won’t stand by and watch that woman live arrogantly in her high position! While I’m still the Grand Duchess, by any means necessary… I’ll make sure…!’  

As she clenched her fists and ground her teeth in frustration, there was a soft knock at the door. The door creaked open cautiously. Katrina snapped irritably.  

“Who is it?! Who said you could come in?!”  

“K-Kati. It’s me.”  

“…Brother?”  

At the voice coming from the door crack, Katrina froze momentarily. Then, her face twisted, and she rushed to the door.  

“Are you insane? Do you know where you are? How did you even get in here?”  

“They let me in when I said you called for me…”  

“Crazy, crazy! What am I supposed to say to the Grand Duke later…?”  

Katrina glanced nervously down the hallway. Though the Grand Duke’s snores were still audible, she was far from reassured.  

“Come in, quickly.”  

There must be a reason for his urgent visit at this hour. Katrina ushered him inside and quickly shut the door. Even then, she wasn’t at ease and locked it securely.  

“What’s going on? Do you think you can just waltz into the Grand Duke’s mansion like this?”  

The smell of alcohol wafted from her unreliable brother. Surely, he had been drinking heavily, gambling, and fooling around with women again.  

Her eyes, as she looked at her brother, were far from kind. Normally, Bartolio would have retorted to her sharp gaze, but now he was too preoccupied.  

He glanced around nervously before lowering his voice.  

“You visited the palace today, didn’t you?”  

“So what?”  

“Did you meet His Highness, the Crown Prince?”  

“Yes, I did. Why?”  

“T-then… do you happen to know where he might be at this hour…?”  

“His Highness? He’s probably in the Crown Prince’s palace. What kind of nonsense is this? Did you come all the way here just to ask that?!”  

Katrina, unable to hold back, shouted. Then, realizing her voice might have been too loud, she clamped her mouth shut.  

Though she stopped talking, her eyes continued to shoot daggers at him.  

Bartolio, frustrated, clutched his chest.  

“Do you think I came here just to ask that? What I mean is, did His Highness have any plans to go out tonight? Like to the theater, for example…”  

“What kind of nonsense is that? Unlike some people, he doesn’t waste his time on frivolous entertainment…”  

Mid-sentence, Katrina narrowed her eyes.  

“…Brother. Who did you meet?”  

“N-no one! Really! Like you said, His Highness wouldn’t go to such places…”  

“So you’re saying His Highness was at the theater? Where? The Gladium Theater?”  

“Ahhh…!”  

Bartolio clung to Katrina’s skirt, desperately denying reality.  

He had fled without properly explaining himself to his companions. How could he? How could he admit that the man he had cursed and fought with was none other than the Crown Prince of this country?!  

“Y-yeah! How could His Highness even know my name? We’ve only met once, and it was so brief!”  

“Hmm…”  

“If it really were His Highness, he wouldn’t have just let it go like that. Yeah, it must have been someone else. It has to be, right?”  

Instead of comforting Bartolio, who was desperately clinging to denial, Katrina fell into deep thought.

Nobles usually visited the Gladium Theater for one of two reasons. 

Either to have a secret rendezvous in the upper floors, where no one could disturb them, or, like this unreliable brother, to gamble in the underground casino of the theater.  

Neither activity suited the upright Crown Prince, but if one had to consider the possibilities…  

“Brother.”  

“Y-yes?”  

“Was His Highness, the Crown Prince, with someone?”  

“Wh-what? I told you, no!”  

“If not, would you have come here in the middle of the night? Stop spouting nonsense and answer me properly.”  

Katrina’s eyes gleamed with a sly light, as though she had cornered him.  

“Who was he with… No, rather, what kind of woman was he with?”  

The cloudy night sky began to drizzle softly.